


SWTOR: Spoils Of War

by SWTORAscension



Series: Ascension [2]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Daichurya, Devaronian, Imperial Reclamation Service, Mandalore the Ultimate - Freeform, Massassi, Multi, Mythosaur Axe, Peer Review, Revan - Freeform, Sith Empire, Yavin 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-07 09:05:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19206211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SWTORAscension/pseuds/SWTORAscension
Summary: Volume I - Interlude: (Late 3642 BBY)While hunting for historical research in Imperial space, Stev and the crew of thePeer Revieware offered a chance to wipe away her mounting debt… But she’ll have to go head-to-head with the Imperial Reclamation service.





	SWTOR: Spoils Of War

**Author's Note:**

> Make sure to check out the first of the series- **SWTOR: Ascension** \- before starting this! Only the opening has been completed, to better explain where the Peer Review is during the events of Liberation. If there's enough interest, perhaps there will be a full novella.

### \--︱Unwelcome

#### Late 3642 BBY

#### Yavin IV

Chiseled and sharp, the spearhead was hewn from a massive stone. Sculpted from the ground into something capable of brutal violence. Bound with thick cords woven from the local plant life, it was attached to the trunk of a sapling tree. Ancient knowledge claimed it was better to use young trees, as they had the needed flexibility to bend and flex when thrown. A massive weapon, and although primitive, the spear was very well-constructed. Stev Makow could easily take in all the crafted details as it whistled within a meter of her face.

Her legs pumped furiously, muscles burning as she dodged trees and vaulted rocks in the path. She was an academic, a professor. Her goal had always been to teach a few classes, get paid to research obscure historical topics, and have a few glasses of Alderaanian ice wine while she did it. There was not much time for physical training and trying not to be murdered by local tribes in her typical schedule.

The spear carved a furrow in the dirt as it landed, forcing Stev to stumble around the obstacle. She tried not to think about how it would have easily skewered her if she had banked ever so slightly right.

“Must run faster!” Mu’se yelled behind her. The reptilian Daichyura had flared her yellow-blue head crest with the danger.

Stev just said what she was thinking in response. “These guys are so angry!”

Honestly, the Massassi looked like mutated, hulking versions of the Sith Purebloods that ran the Empire. Between two to three meters in height, they were all shades of florid crimson with fierce, predatory profiles. Sharp bone spurs protruding over their bodies. Their faces included tendrils that hung from their cheekbones, and cartilaginous eyebrow stalks that covered their eyes. Other features seemed less evolved, like their simian mouths, small noses and ears, and a slightly receding chin.

The thing that haunted Stev every time she cast a glance backward though were their eyes. Yellow, glowing, and featureless, they were terrifying in the shadows of the towering jungle. Even for the all the running, for the occasional blaster bolt at their pursuers, those eyes only grew closer.

Her feet splashed through the water of a shallow creek. It had been a minor annoyance on the way to check out the massive ziggurat of a temple they had seen from the air. Now it was a dramatic spray as she blew through. What was it she had told Ashnox before she left? _I’ll be fine, and something about getting out of the crossfire_. It may not be Imperial troops behind her, but she had definitely failed on both accounts.

Luckily they had landed their ship in a nearby clearing. That was, if they made it that far. It had been wonderfully convenient at the time, close to where they were looking to go. It seemed much further with hostile villagers on her heels though. Stev tried to calculate how much of a lead they needed to not only reach the entry hatch, but open it and get the engines started. An army of giant aliens all over the ship would be super effective at keeping them grounded forever.

Out of her peripheral vision, Stev caught sight of her other companion’s horns. Fisk Charl had been the most apprehensive about this little side quest, and Stev was sure he was saving his breath for when they were back on board to give her the ‘told-you-so.’ For now, the Devaronian was doing his best to stay alive. Putting his blaster behind him, he fired wildly in mid-run. It was unlikely he would hit anything, but there was always a chance. A blaster was in her hand as well, even though there was no way to get a good shot off at a full run in a thick jungle.

Sweat poured in rivulets down Stev’s face, stinging her eyes and leaving her mouth dry. It was partially her fault, wearing her usual jacket and pants while in such humid conditions - wrapped in a thick, wet blanket of misery. The heat was oppressive, even in the shade. And that was before she added the physical fitness test into it.

 _Pass, you live. Fail, you might get eaten_. She shook her head. _Not helping yourself out here_.

 _There_. She saw a glint of metal through the trees and smiled through the pain. Their salvation was a K-52 Strongarm: boxy, unattractive, and heavily armed with its aftermarket cannon. Two engines sat mounted on diagonal struts that jutted out from either side of light freighter. As they cleared the edge of the forest, it was easier to see the red and white paint job.

On the bow was gold Aurebesh lettering: **PEER REVIEW**.

“Home sweet home!” Stev yelled breathlessly as she headed for the ramp. “Mu’se, get us out of here!”

Sarcasm dripped on Mu’se’s own strained words. “We’re leaving? I thought we could stop and enjoy the nice weather!”

Stev ignored her. “Fisk, watch the door! We need to hold these guys off until we’re in the air.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He shook his head as they all moved inside.

The sporadic fire from Fisk echoed through the cabin as Stev stumbled over an empty ration container and had to push the blonde strands out of her face. Clutter had built up lately, which came from the comfortable complacency of sharing a small space over a couple thousand parsecs. The K-52 was meant for one, maybe two crew members for anything more than short trips, and they were over that by a third. Two mattresses lay on the floor next to the one originally built into the ship. Around them were holonovels, discarded items of clothing, and drink containers rolling around with the sudden motion. _Maybe it was a little tight in here_.

Lights were already flashing red from on the auxiliary power couplers on the ship’s diagnostic board. One of the downsides of it being someone else’s ship. _Well, that’s not true_ , Stev thought. _Technically it’s my ship now, but before when it was that Mandalorian’s…_ The sound of spears deflecting off the armored hull caught her attention.

 _Focus_. There would be time to mentally recount that long and convoluted story when they were not under attack. Technically they were safe from the weapons, unless one struck something important, like the engine intake. Or if they made it on board and tore them apart.

 _Well, that’s comforting_. “Mu’se!” Stev yelled. “There’s warning lights going crazy back here.”

“I know!” The response came from the cockpit. “But we don’t have another option!”

Wrenching back on the controls, the ship lifted off the ground. An uneven sound vibrated from the engines, but it was holding together. Fisk took the chance to retreat fully inside and smacked the ramp controls. It swung back into position with a slow hiss of the hydraulics. He holstered his weapon and headed for the navigator’s seat that had become his usual spot during their travels.

Stev followed as they hovered above the clearing, just out of spear-chucking range. Red light lit up the viewport as Mu’se fired a burst from the chin guns back toward their pursuers. The turbolasers cut craters into the treeline, shattering wooden trunks and filling the air with scorched soil. Whatever Massassi had not yet broken off the chase began backing into the cover of the forest again. Not how Stev wanted any of this to go, but at the same time, she was just glad to be alive.

Breaking through the treetops, the sky was partly the cool blue common on type I breathable worlds. Above it all though was a curving tint of pink that dominated a good portion of their view. Yavin IV was only a moon of the gas giant Yavin, a massive world of swirling shades of red and constant storms. Now that she had a chance to breathe, she had to admit it was a stunning sight.

“So, that could have gone better.” Fisk said, running his hands down his dull red face. “Maybe we should avoid ancient Sith temples from now on.”

“I’ll second that.” Stev agreed. “Just sounded like it would be an adventure.”

“If what we just escaped is your barometer, maybe we need to be less adventurous.”

Mu’se had more pressing issues. “We need to pin down where these alarms are coming from. This ship has definitely seen better days.”

Stev sighed as she stood and headed aft. Mu’se could say that again. After ‘commendeering’ this ship on Nar Shaddaa once upon a time, Stev and her crew had earned the right to keep it in exchange for freeing her old friend – a Jedi – from Imperial custody. Peer Review had been in rough shape back then, even before fighting the Imperial fleet. Afterwards, the Republic had offered a bounty to help pay the bills and speed them on their way. It turned out to be a new paint job, registration, and the extra beds.

The bounty itself was decent, but split three ways it became a meager amount. Enough to keep food in their stomachs and the ship flying for a little while. Long term though? That was one of the reasons she had come to this jungle moon. Maybe uncover some new historical details or a priceless relic she could use to keep her creditors at bay. She chuckled quietly at her predicament. This sounded like the life of some underworld smuggler, not a history professor trying to write their next thesis.

“So, what’s the damage, Cap?” Mu’se called, using her more teasing nickname for Stev.

Stev scanned the board closer this time, trying to see where the root cause was, rather than the symptoms. “Uh… Couplers are being overloaded, but it looks like the real issue is with the… Kriff me.” She swore. “It’s the hyperdrive motivator!”

Peer Review was heading into orbit regardless of what issues there were, as it was easier to deal with internal issues when gravity was no longer part of the problem. Based on this new information, however, it looked like they would not be going far.

“Are you telling me we can’t jump out of system?” Fisk said with understandable frustration.

Stev motioned calm. “I’m sure we can bypass it. It doesn’t look totally broken, just overstressed with all the old parts shifting power around. We’ll just look for the closest port, and-”

“Guys!” Mu’se yelled again. “We’ve got a problem.”

Stev hurried back to her companion. “What could be a bigger issue than the hyperdrive?”

Outside the viewport was an Imperial _Terminus-class_ frigate. Built as a dedicated warship, the wedge-shaped ships with sweeping dorsal fins were used for a number of tasks such as escort missions, search and destroy, or transporting important Imperial figures. This one was clearly on a routine patrol, and Peer Review was in the wrong place.

“Unidentified craft, this is the _Assimilator_. You are in restricted Imperial territory. Stay where you are and deactivate weapons in preparation for boarding and inspection.”

“So, what are we going to do?” Fisk looked between the women.

“I’ll tell you what we’re not going to do.” Stev dropped into the co-pilot’s seat and checked the sensors. “We’re sure as hell not getting boarded by the Empire. We just left what I assume is something they wanted to protect as much as the locals, and I’m sure everything about us screams ‘pirate.’ If they take us into custody, we’ll never see the outside of a cell again.”

“They could just space us.” Mu’se said matter-of-factly.

“Not helping.” Stev responded. “We need to buy some time. Hit ‘em with Huttese and act like we’re half-complying out of misunderstanding.”

Mu’se looked at Stev with her big, black eyes. “Without a functioning hyperdrive, we’re not going to get far.”

“What about the ion mine?” Fisk thought out loud.

Stev scoffed. “We only have one, it isn’t exactly an offensive weapon, and how would we-”

Mu’se stroked her head crest as she considered their options. “Wait. We might just be able to make this work. Go get it prepped, Fisk.”

The Imperial voice returned, more impatient this time. “Unidentified craft: Comply immediately, or you will be fired upon and destroyed.”

“ _I’m sorry, I don’t speak Basic_.” Mu’se activated the receiver and replied to the Imperial officer in Huttese. “ _Everything is fine. How are you_?” Turning the nose of their freighter toward the frigate, she flew at a casual and unassuming pace. Watching the thing they were supposed to be escaping from grow larger with each passing second was not helping Stev’s confidence in the situation.

Increasingly agitated, the clipped Imperial voice spat orders to his subordinates. "Get me a Droid for translation!"

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Stev said quietly as they muted the line again.

“Me too,” Mu’se admitted as she stared straight ahead, “or this is going to be a really short trip.”

“Fisk?” Stev raised her voice to be heard by her friend. “How’s it going back there?”

“Activated, although if this ship is any indication, I can’t guarantee it’s going to work.”

The holographic face of a protocol droid appeared on the console in place of the officer. “ _Achuta. Please shut down your engines and wait patiently for boarding_.”

Peer Review shot forward with a burst of acceleration, closing the distance and hoping to catch them by surprise. They would get one shot at this, and they could worry about the consequences later.

“Fire on that ship!” They heard before the connection cut out. Even though they had not attacked the Imperials, it was clear they were not going to let these suspected criminals escape.

“Releasing!” Mu’se called out. A vibration moved through the ship as the caltrop-shaped object fell free and the momentum kept it on track for the frigate. Peer Review pulled up and away, taking evasive action to avoid the powerful turbolasers that burned their way.

A bright light lit up the space around them with a blinding flash. The explosion sent out an electromagnetic pulse that pushed the limits of the capital ship’s shields and damaged sensors in the blast radius. In its wake, there was only stillness and empty space.

Underneath the superstructure of the command bridge, the Peer Review hung upside down. Magnetically clamped to the larger ship’s hull, Mu’se had deactivated most of their sensors, weapons, shields - anything that might alert the Imperials. It had been a bold move, and Stev was suitably impressed. She almost asked the Daichyura where she learned something like that, but the answer usually boiled down to an obscure and semi-legal job she once had.

"Now what?" Fisk asked in an unnecessary whisper.

"We wait."

After ten minutes or so of tense looks and glances out of the viewport, the larger ship began turning away from the planet. Even in the silence of space, the flickering of lights told them something was happening inside.

“I’d get strapped in.” Mu’se commented. “We’re about to jump to hyperspace.”

“But how is that-” Stev began, before realizing she already answered her own question. She quickly sat and clicked the metal harness in place. Outside the stars stretched and bent into the coronal tunnel as the Imperial ship blasted into the void.

 _It looks like I’m about to see the Seat of the Empire a lot sooner than expected_.

**Author's Note:**

> If you thought it was half decent, please let me know with a kudo or a comment! As this is only a one-shot, please check out **SWTOR: Ascension** (prequel) and **SWTOR: Liberation** (sequel) for more! Thank you, and MTFBWY!


End file.
